


Something Strange

by ChaoticWoofles



Series: Luigi x Reader [1]
Category: Luigi's Mansion (2001), Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Established Friendship, F/M, My First Fanfic, Nintendo - Freeform, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Slow Romance, learning to tag, luigi is a shy cutie, mixed POVs, oc inslusion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2020-09-02 00:29:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20267053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticWoofles/pseuds/ChaoticWoofles
Summary: "Holy crap, you won a mansion!?" You gasped at your green covered friend. "W-well, it seems so. Mario already went to check it out though..." Luigi replied nervously. "Well, what are we waiting for!? Let's go check it out!" You exclaimed as you took his hand and rushed out of Toad Square.But little do you know, something strange is going on there...*This story is based off the FIRST Luigi's Mansion game. There is oc inclusion, so no like, no read.Other than that, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy.Ciao!-Woofles





	1. The Mansion

"I think it should be up ahead." A young woman named (Y/n) told her best friend, Luigi, the not as well know Mario brother. 

(Y/n) and Luigi had been friends long before the bros got their fame as the popular Mario bros. So when Luigi needed help finding his brother, who went to check out the mansion his younger brother had won, there was no doubt that Luigi went to her first.

"I think I a-see it!" Luigi exclaimed. Looking up, (Y/n) saw a very creepy looking mansion, complete with old, decayed trees and crows. "Um, are you sure this is the right place, Weegee?" She asked, slightly creeped out by the state of the place. "It looks nothing like the letter."

Shrugging his shoulders, Luigi walked over, lightly shivering in fear, his hand shaking the flashlight in his hand. You passed the outhouse looking shack in the front and headed to the gate. Giving it a good shove, Luigi opened the gate and held it open for you. Nodding your head as a silent "Thank you" as you walked up the door to the mansion. Opening it, you shone your light inside.

Walking in, you and Luigi found yourselves in a foyer. There were was a grand staircase, a door in between the stairs, a seemingly dark magic covering it. Three doors were above. A chandelier hung from the ceiling. Something was covered near the stairs. Spider webs were scattered around.

"Huh. It looks like it needs some work, but other than that it seems liveable." (Y/n) stated. As you started walking up the stairs, Luigi yelled out. "MARIO! YOU HERE, BRO!?"

No answer. 

"Maybe he's further in." You suggested as you tried to open the middle door on the second floor. Shaking it, you were surprised to find it locked. "That's strange." You said as you tried the other doors. 

"Maybe the key's downstairs." That was when you heard a yelp from the lower level.

Running over to the top of the staircase, you saw Luigi cowering at the sight of a bright golden key floating in the air with a yellow, almost ghost-like aura surrounding it.

Wait, WHAT!?

You did a double-take as the key dropped to the ground and the yellow aura started going up the stairs, heading straight for you! You ducked in time as it charged at you before going through the middle door.

"(Y/n)! Are y-you o-ok!?" Luigi inquired as he scrambled up the stairs, key in hand. "Yea, I'm fine, Luigi." You said as you straighten yourself out.

Looking at the key in his hand and then the door the thing as gone through, you looked Luigi in the eyes as to say, "Should we?" He got the message and nodded, walking up to the door and unlocking it. Slowly walking in, you guys found yourselves in what seemed like a parlor. 

Tiptoeing in, Luigi looked around, but not before a yellow ghost screamed in his face. He started to back up, shielding you from the Golden Ghost. However, before it could take a swing at either of you, the ghost started being vacuum away. That's when you finally noticed the old man that was also in the room.

He was short, light-skinned with the normal wrinkles you see on elders and was trying hard to vacuum up the ghost with a strange machine strapped to his back. However, the ghost was seemingly stronger than he, and started dragging the man around the room. Working on his instincts, Luigi grabbed your arm and hid behind the covered table in the room.

The ghost suddenly stopped in the middle of the room, causing the elder man to fly towards it. It punched him away, sending him harshly onto the floor in front of the door to the entrance. The ghost gave a laugh that sounded quite a lot like mocking before it vanished into thin air.

"Are you ok, sir?" You asked as you walked to the older male's side, helping him up onto his feet. "Ooof... I sure take a lot of knocks in this line of work. I'm getting too old for this ghost-catching tomfoolery." He groaned as he looked up at you and Luigi. "Either way, nice to meet you. I'm Professor E. Gadd."

"This house... it seems to have more and more ghosts each day!" He grunted as he looked around the room. "What are you fellas doing around here, anyhoo?" He asked, turning to you.

But before Luigi could answer him, the ghost came back...

With two of his friends!

"Uh-oh, This looks ugly!" The elder man exclaimed. The ghosts went in for the attack, but before you three could run, a light shone out, causing all three ghosts to look as though shocked, hearts exposing in the middle of their chests, before all three started getting vacuumed at the same time. That's when you notice the door in the back of the parlor was opened, and in the frame stood a much younger girl, who had what seemed like an exact copy of the machine the older man had strapped to her back as well. She was making small tugs as she pulled all three ghosts towards her, a look of determination on her face.

The three ghosts stood no chance against her. Other than dragging her out to the middle of the room, all three were promptly sucked up, the force of it sending the girl to the floor. "Oof. That hurt." She said as she eventually got up. E. Gadd, however, seemed to be beaming with pride. "Good job, champ. But we should really get out of here." He said as more laughter from ghosts sounded out. "Alright, youngsters, look lively. Follow me, posthaste!" He commanded as he started herding all three of you out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok then, that's done. Hope you enjoyed! remember to leave a comment!

Not that you have to, of course.


	2. To Catch a Ghost

"I see. So you're Luigi and you're (Y/n)." E. Gadd repeated. After the other girl had managed to vacuum the three Golden Ghosts, she and E. Gadd had managed to get your group to a place E. Gadd simply called, "The Lab." It underground and was surprisingly spacious.

"Well then, allow me to introduce myself again. I'm Professor Elvin Gadd, or E. Gadd for short." He said with a smile. "And this young gal-" E. Gadd waved over to the girl, who was climbing down the latter after triple checking the entrance. "- Is my granddaughter, Maria."

Maria jumped down, landing with a small grunt. She gave you and Luigi a playful two finger salute, despite the tired look on her face not changing. Looking at her up and down in the bright lab, you were surprised at how surprisingly unkept she was compared to her grandfather. While E. Gadd was wearing a clean lab coat with a red undershirt, Maria was wearing a worn, black hoodie sweatshirt with a fire flower in the middle and royal blue leggings. Overall, she just seemed like a very tired college student, from her messy, long dark black hair (Yes, that is a color), to the dark bags under her deep purple eyes.

"Yo."

"Ho, ho! I feel as though our paths were destined to cross! Well met, youngsters!" E. Gadd exclaimed, the same smile on his face. "Yeah. Nice to met ya. I guess." Maria droned, stuffing her hands into her hoodie pockets. "So, you won the mansion in a contest you didn't enter? Why bother coming?" She asked.

"Well you see, Luigi's brother, Mario came to see the mansion a couple of days ago to check it out, but he hasn't come back." You explained to the pair. "So you actually believe the mansion exists then... strange."

"What do you mean? We were just a-in the mansion!" Luigi retorted. Maria simply shook her head. "Gramps and I have been living here for a good couple of years. That mansion literally came out of nowhere a couple of days ago. In order words, those ghosts scammed ya, and you fell for it."

"Maria, for goodness's sake, stop rubbing salt into the wound." E. Gadd stated as he glanced over to his granddaughter, who was now slouched against the machine behind him. "Hey, I'm just speaking the truth." She retorted. "Actually, getting a good look at you, Luigi, I recall a guy with red clothes in similar to yours entered the mansion without even stopping to say hello. He never returned! Was he some type of dream?" E. Gadd asked. You and Luigi gasped. "That was Mario!"

"Oh no! That's horrible! He won't stand a chance against those ghost without my help! You must go after him! Tell you what, I'll teach you how to capture ghosts so you can-"

"Hang on, grandpa!" Maria suddenly shouted out, startling all three of you. "They'll be dead within the hour. Let me find this Mario guy. I'm better experienced and-"

"Now hang on a moment!" You snapped at her. "You don't know Mario like we do, so we'll be better at tracking him down." You explained. However, Maria didn't seem too pleased.

"Look, girly. Some of those ghosts aren't normal. They'll bury you alive! Listen to me when I say this I-"

"ENOUGH!" E. Gadd snapped at her. Maria was obviously surprised at her grandfather's outburst. "Wha- Grandpa, you know its true!" She retorted.

"As true as the fact you're better experienced for this, remember this: Mario is LUIGI'S brother, not yours. He knows him better, and therefore will better know what sort of situation Mario would get into. As far as we know. Mario is an experienced hero. If he got in trouble, who knows how bad it would be?" E. Gadd explained to her, keeping a stern voice throughout.

"But-"

"No buts other than your's taking Luigi and (Y/n) to the training area. We'll teach them how to use the Polturgust 3000s"

Maria finally found herself in a dead end, so rather than arguing with her grandfather, she instead headed out the door in the back of the lab. "Please excuse her, she isn't very good at working with other people. She really is quite nice once you get to know her." E. Gadd said as he watched her walk out, shaking his head lightly. "Well... We'll take your word for it." You replied, following Maria out with Luigi right behind you.

She lead you over to a small room with holes in the ground, each covered with metallic covers. She then handed you the two machines that she and E. Gadd had been using back in the mansion before strutting out the room.

Looking at Luigi you couldn't help but growl. "Is it just me or is she just a bi-"

"(Y-y/n)! Watch your language!" Luigi stuttered.

"...A bit bittersweet. Weeg, what the heck, you know me better than that." 

"O-oh. OH! I'm-a sorry, (Y/n)."

Suddenly, the lights turned off and a speaker turned on. "All right kiddos, let us begin!"

E. Gadd explained a bit about how to suck things into the Poltergust and how to switch it to blow out air.

"All right, just remember: Shine normal ghosts with your flashlight to stun them and expose their hearts. Here they come!"

About ten minutes later

"Excellent! You managed to capture all the ghosts!" E. Gadd proudly exclaimed as he handed you and Luigi a cold water bottle each. "Thanks, professor." You thanked him.

"Well, rest up kiddos! You'll need as much energy as possible to find Mario. When you're ready to go, let me know. I'll have Maria take you over to the mansion." He said before going back to the main lab.

Standing in the now empty room, you took a sip of the water before glancing at Luigi and realizing how green the... well, green plumber was. He was simply standing there, staring at the water in his hand. You see the worry and fright in his eyes.

Putting your arm around him, you gave him a comforting hug, to which he simply put his head on your shoulder. "Think we'll a-find him?" Luigi whimpered quietly to you. You could feel the light shiver he had. "He'll be fine Luigi. I promise we'll find him." You reassured him. a light smile spread on his face. He looked over at where E. Gadd had exited and said, "Shall we?" You nodded and walked out right behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	3. The Paintings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is as far as I'll go," Maria stated at the stairs to the entrance. "You're not coming?" You couldn't help but ask her.

"Look, as much as I do want to help you, my gramps told me to simply bring you to the mansion and head back. He may be wrong of me not being able to help you, but he's the boss."

"W-we can c-call you if a-we need anything, r-right?" Luigi stumbled as he looked up at the mansion. Patting his shoulder, Maria turned on her heel and headed back to the Lab.

Looking at each other, you and Luigi gulped and turned back to the entrance. "Well, here we go..." You whispered as you put your hand on the knob and opened the door.

The first thing you noticed was that it was a bit darker in the foyer. That, and there was a crying toad near the right staircase.

Going up to him, you could hear him blubber on about Mario. However, the moment he looked up and noticed the two of you he jumped up and happily yelled," WAAA! Luigi, (Y/n)! There's still hope!"

"Toad! What are you doing here!?" You grunted as you managed to pry yourself from his grip.

"Well, Princess Peach asked me to come here and find Mario. He left when he heard that Luigi won a mansion, and he never returned. Then when I arrived here, this place was full of ghosts and I couldn't find Mario. I kinda freak out a little and didn't know what to do!" He explained as his eyes started to well up with tears. You felt sort of bad for the poor guy. After all, pretty much all Toads were cowards. Patting his back, you gave him a small hug to try and calm him down. The Toad started wailing again, before begging you and Luigi to help him.

"Hey, calm down. We'll a-find Mario!" Luigi exclaimed, trying his best to sound brave. "Waa! Th-thanks Luigi!" Toad exclaimed as he finally calmed down. Suddenly, the lights in the foyer turned on.

Leaving Toad where he was, the pair of you headed up the stairs and back into the parlor. Walking inside the small room, you noticed there were quite some coins laying around.

"That's strange. Well, money for us I guess." You noted as you started sucking up all the coins.

Looking around both you and Luigi were surprised with how much money hiding around. "Wowie! These-a ghosts are loaded!" Luigi exclaimed excitedly as he picked up the money that fell in front of the painting parallel to the door. However, while doing so, he also took out the flames around it.

Suddenly, the darkness in the room seemed to become heavier as a voice cried out angrily," Who put out my candles!?" Squeaking in surprise, Luigi fell back as you both realized the voice came from the same painting as where the candles were.

"You, Mr. Lime-Green?" The first painting growled.

"Well, dark rooms are dangerous around here... yesss..." The painting to the left chuckled creepily.

"THEY love the dark... and now THEY will get you!!! Bloo-heh." The one next to it exclaimed.

"Now you're in for it! Blugh-huh!" The one parallel to the third yelled.

"Just like little Red-Cap before you..." The fifth whispered darkly.

"May you wander lost in the darkness...forever!" The first cried.

At this point, Luigi was holding on to you for dear life. The first painting chuckled. "Are you AFRAID of the dark, little man. Are you? Huh?" It hooted.

"I...I..." Luigi stuttered in fear.

"Blah-hah! Here THEY are now!" It cried as the room completely darken and prickly vines wrapped around both exits. Three Golden Ghosts jumped out, laughing evilly as they charged for you and Luigi.

While Luigi quivered in fear at the ghosts, you were quick on your feet, doing the same things E. Gadd had taught you back in the Lab. 

You shone the first ghost, stunning it before you started trying to suck it into your Poltergust. It started to panic, dragging you around the room in an attempt to get you loose. However, you kept a tight grip on your vacuum, and manage to nag it before it got away. 

You did the same to the same to the other two, and aside from also getting punched in the gut, you got out fine.

Soon enough, the room light up, a chest containing a key appearing in front of you.

Grabbing it, you turned to the green brother, then noticed how horribly pale he looked. He was shaking, tears starting to prick at his eyes. "Woah, you ok there, Weegee?" You asked as you put your hand on his shoulder affectionately. Suddenly, he let out a loud cry, grabbing his head and running out the door and going outside, screaming and crying all the way.

Running after him, you ran past Toad, who was once again looking scared and worried. Ignoring him, you ran after the green plumber.

Finding him outside, crying, you chased after him before catching him in front of the Lab's shack entrance. He fell to his knees, sobbing and blubbering as he held on to you, burying his face into your shoulder.

"T-t-they got him! They a-got Mario!" Luigi sobbed. You sighed and hugged him tightly. You always knew how easily Luigi could fall into a hysteric panic attack.

"I-I-I can't do this! I'm not Mario! I couldn't even help you with three ghosts!" He blubbered.

"Hey, Weegee, it's going to be ok, we-"

"YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE TO FIND HIM WITH ME! IF I CAN'T EVEN STOP THREE GHOSTS, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PROTECT YOU!? WHAT IF THEY HURT YOU OR EVEN WORSE KIL-"

"HEY! Don't you dare say that!" You stop him. "Everything is going to be fine! We'll find Mario, get rid of these ghosts, then we'll-"

"Wow, four minutes and twenty-six seconds. I was expecting you two to last longer."

Looking at the door to the shack, you noticed Maria leaning in the frame, arms crossed.

You growled and open your mouth to snap at her, but she simply put her hand up, as to say, "Don't bother," before walking over to you and Luigi.

She tapped the crying plumber on his shoulder, causing him to turn and look at her, eyes red and tears still flowing.

"Hey. Why are you here again?" She grumbled.

Sniffing, Luigi answered, "T-to find Mario."

"Are you willing to do anything for him?"

"O-of course! He's my bro..." Luigi mumbled.

"And (Mispronounced Y/n)-"

"(Y/n.)" He grumbled, visibly annoyed at the mispronunciation.

"Right, whatever," Maria grumbled. "Are you forcing her to be here with you?"

"Of-of course not!" Luigi retorted.

"Then what the hell are you crying about? You're out here to find your brother, who you obviously love to the stars and back. And you're going up against what, a bunch of dusty ghosts who have nothing better to do than scare people? Not to mention you have a great friend here ready to help you, no matter what. Come on, calm down, dude." Maria finished before letting out a yawn.

"I...I..." Luigi stuttered as he tried to find the right words.

You were in awe. You never expected the grumpy girl to be so reasonable.

"You... you're right! I have nothing to fear! Let's a-go, (Y/n)!" Luigi declared confidently as he ran back towards the mansion."

"Luigi, wait!" You called to him. "Better watch him. He'll have that boost for a while before realizing the stupid decision he just made, running in there, his head in the clouds." Maria grumbled before once again yawning and walking down to the lab.

Watching her retreating form, you couldn't help but see some sort of light in the girl. Smiling, you rushed back towards the mansion, chasing after the green-capped hero.


	4. A Husband and his Wife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to make discovering the portrait ghosts a bit more... alive?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Take that!" You yelled as you sucked up one of the Golden ghosts in the Wardrobe Room. 

After Maria had inspired Luigi to go back into the mansion, he ended up waiting for you in the parlor. After all, you still had the key to the next room. 

"Feeling better?" You asked, a smile spreading over your face as you watched your green best friend. He had been dealing with the Garbage Can ghost that had been making capturing the Golden Ghosts much more difficult than it had to be. After he finally managed to suck it up, the ghost giving a cry as it entered the Poltergust, he turned and gave you one of his adorably goofy smiles. 

"Sure am- ack!" He cried as he accidentally slipped on one of the banana peels on his way to give you a hug. "Woah, you ok!?" You cried as you picked him up. "I'm... fine." He stumbled, dazed.

Giggling to yourself, you help him steady himself. Looking around the dark room, you were surprised the lights haven't come back on. "That's strange."

Suddenly, a tune started coming from Luigi's Gameboy Horror. Answering it, the two of you noticed Maria's face on the little screen, yet she wasn't looking at the camera, instead looking off-screen. "I told you, grandpa, he had his chance at the Gate of Stars!"

Off-screen, you could hear E. Gadd cry, "But he's perfect for Meldrina! Reich left her for dead!"

Shaking her head, Maria looked at the camera. "Hey, just letting you know something: Every now and then you'll find a blue ghost that looks like a Golden Ghost. They're called Speedy Spirits and they only show up in dark rooms. Very rare, very special. There's one hiding in that room. Try to catch it," She then looked back off-screen before yelling, "I swear old man, if you really think that Pedro can get with her, you're getting slow in your age!" The screen then flickered black. 

Looking at each other, you and Luigi simply shrugged. 

"What do you think they were arguing about?" Luigi couldn't help but ask as he searched around the room for any hiding places. "Probably that new soap opera the recently came- OH GEZ!" You yelled. You had been searching the wardrobes in the room when a blue ghost jumped out at you, screaming and causing you to land on your bum. Working quickly on his feet, Luigi flashed the ghost and began sucking it up. It was quick, and by the time he had it bagged, a large amount of treasure had sprouted from his vacuum's mouth. 

After collecting all of it and once again getting jumpscared by a golden ghost hidden in a different wardrobe, the lights finally light up, revealing a key on a nearby shelf. Grabbing it, Luigi tossed it in his hands for a few seconds before putting it away. 

"Well, we got a key. Where do you think it goes?" You asked as you headed back to the Foyer, Luigi right next to you. "I... really don't a-know." He commented as the two of you stood at the top of the stairs. "Eeny, meeny, miny... moe!" You guessed as you pointed at the two other doors on the second floor. "Right it is!" You stated as Luigi tried to fit the key to the door. 

"Doesn't work." He noted.

"Left it is!" You declared quickly, pointing at the other door. Luigi walked over to the next door, shaking his head lightly at your cute antics.

Wait, cute?

Luigi suddenly stopped, face pink at the thought and quickly shook his head. No, no he didn't feel that way about you...

...did he?

"WEEGEE!" He was quickly shaken out of his thoughts as he finally heard both you calling him and his GameBoy Horror ringing again.

"You ok, bud? You looked pretty out of it there." You asked as he took out the loud device. "Yeah... yeah. I'm-a fine." He quickly said as he answered the call. 

Up popped an annoyed looking E. Gadd. "Hold up a sec, kiddos! We're detecting ghosts stronger than those you've been fighting up until now!"

In the background, you could hear Maria yell, " Probably the escaped gallery ghosts!" 

"Yes, as SOMEONE just noted, I believe that it may be some of the escaped gallery ghosts. I should warn you, those ghosts are different from the regular ones."

Suddenly Maria showed up on screen, lightly shoving her grandfather aside. "They won't show you their hearts if you simply flash them."

"What!? Then how-a are we supposed to capture them!?" Luigi asked. 

Once again taking the screen, E. Gadd explained," You'll probably figure it out by checking the ghost's heart with the G.B.H. You're bound to find a clue that way. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the two of you. Good luck." 

"HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO SCAN THEIR HEARTS IF THE GHOSTS HIDE THEM!?" Maria yelled in the background before the screen flickered to black.

Giving each other a look of concern, you and Luigi looked at the door in front of you. 

"Well... here we go." Luigi stumbled as he put the key in the lock, easily opening it. 

It was a small hallway with around five doors, one of which had money leading to it. There were the small ghosts of mice all over, both on the ground and crawling on the walls. 

Of course, Luigi didn't realize this; he was more interested in the money leading to the door. Looking at your map, you realized something about the said door, which Luigi was now turning the knob to. 

"Wait, Luigi, don't open that-" 

At that moment, the door swung open harshly, slamming Luigi into the wall.

"...Fake door." You winced as Luigi, now dazed, tried to regain his footing. "You ok?" You asked as you gently held his face, making sure he wasn't too hurt. 

Other than a couple of minor scratches, he was fine. Finally getting out of his daze, Luigi quickly blushed at how close your face was to his. "I'M-A FINE!" He quickly exclaimed as he lightly pushed you away, completely red in the face.

You looked at him in confusion, but decided to shrug it off.

For now.

Looking back at his map, Luigi realized that there was no door where the two of you were standing. "Trapdoors... how-a nice." He grumbled. Luckily, he could see that the door next to it was, in fact, real and open. Opening it, you found yourselves in what seemed to be a study...

With a ghost of an older man in a rocking chair. 

"Hello." He said, not looking up from his book, giving a small yawn. 

Luigi gave a small yelp at quickly hid behind you. 

"Um... Hello." You replied. 

The man gave a lazy wave before completely putting his attention on his book. Looking at each other, you and Luigi started around the room. Looking at the bookshelves, you noticed a number of different books. 

" 'Darkness is their cheese?' Who in the world thinks this stuff up?" You mumbled to yourself as you scanned the many books. 

Suddenly you heard a yelp behind you. Turning around, you noticed Luigi suddenly trying to catch a Speedy Spirit. It dragged him over to the fireplace, but other than that, he managed to bag the quick ghost, once again causing money to burst from his vacuum's mouth. 

Other than that, you guys couldn't find anything else.

"Um... I-a guess we have to capture him?" Luigi whispered to you as he pointed to the ghost in the rocking chair. You shrugged and thought for a second on how to capture him. 

Walking up to him, you asked, "Um... Excuse me Mr...."

"Neville." The ghost mumbled, still not looking away from his book.

"Uh, Ok, Mr. Neville. Uh..." You looked over at Luigi for some help, but he simply shrugged, shaking his head. Suddenly, he had a look of thought, until he picked out one of the books from the shelf and walked over next to you. 

"S-so you have a little bambino of your own?" He asked, trying to hide his stutter. 

"Three. Twins and a little toddler." Was the reply he got.

"O-oh. So you're married?" You took a guess.

"Yes. To my beautiful wife Lydia." It was probably just you seeing things, but you could've sworn you saw a smile ghost his lips. 

"Oh. I see." You replied nervously.

Suddenly, Neville looked up at stared at you and Luigi. 

"Married?" He asked, gesturing at the two of you.

A light blush showed at your cheeks as Luigi turned red. 

"O-oh, no. No, we're just friends." You quickly told him, rubbing the back of your head.

Neville gave an echoing chuckle before giving a small yawn. His heart suddenly flickered before hiding again.

You and Luigi quickly locked eyes, each of you realizing Neville's weakness. 

"So... How old are your kids?" You asked, hoping to distract the ghost until he yawned again. 

"Chauncey's just a year old. The twins are five." Neville answered, looking back down at his book. 

"Oh! Oh..." You realized what that meant.

"No worries about Chauncey, he was born a ghost." Neville quickly added. 

"Oh." 

"Those twins. They got angry with Lydia earlier today. She twirled their little toy plane and they ended up locking their rooms and throwing the key somewhere in the mansion."

"Wow. They sound like quite the little troublemakers." You said as you thought about how angry you had to get to throw away the key to your room. 

"Yes, they arrrgghh." Neville yawned halfway through his sentence. Working quick, both you and Luigi shined your lights on him, shocking him before starting to suck him into one of the Poltergust 3000s. 

"Sorry about this!" You called as you struggled to hold on to the large ghost. 

Alongside trying to pull away, Neville also threw some strange, black and purple mushrooms towards you and Luigi. Pearls were also being thrown all over the small study.

Finally, with one last tug, Neville was finally bagged in your Poltergust. The lights then turned on, a small blue chest appearing in between the now empty rocking chair and the desk.

Opening it and retrieving the key from inside, you saw that it went to the master bedroom. Walking out, you couldn't help but laugh. "Can you believe he actually thought you and I were married? I mean, who asks a question like that?" You asked.

Luigi gave a small blush and chuckled. "Ye-yeah." 

Opening the door to the master bedroom, you found your self in a surprisingly bland room.

Well, except the colorful ghost of a woman at the vanity, but yea. These ghosts did not have a good interior design taste.

Hearing the door close behind the to of you, the ghost looked at the two of you in the mirror.

"Lydia, I presume- hey!" You exclaimed as she suddenly rushed over to you and held your cheeks in her extremely cold hands. 

"Oh, my look at you! Aren't you just ADORABLE!" She squealed as she smiled widely. 

"Uh..." Luigi simply watched on, stunned at the ghost's behavior.

"I must say, just look at those eyes! Oh, they just SHINE with that (E/C)-ness! Oh, your cheeks are SUCH a nice pink!" 

The ghost, probably Lydia, continued to fawn over you as Luigi watched on, dumbfounded.

"Of course, your hair could use some work, dearie! It honestly looks like you've been roughhousing all day! Don't you agree, Greenie?" Lydia asked as she turned your head over to Luigi. 

"Uh, um..." Luigi stammered, not sure what to say.

Lydia squealed as she FINALLY let you go. "Who knows? Maybe with some work, one day you'll look as lovely as ME!" She exclaimed as she once again sat at the vanity. She quickly picked up her brush and continued to blabber on about how great you could look if you tried to look like her as she brushed her blonde hair.

Rubbing your cheeks in an attempt to warm them up, you couldn't help but give a ghost a dirty glare as she continued her vain comments.

"Of course, dear, no everyone can look as fabulous as me. Why, you have those UGLY wrinkles, but look at me! You have to agree that my face is fuller than a fat person at a buffet! Why, even my wonderful hair is perfect!"

"How did Neville stand her?" Luigi couldn't help but mumble. However, looking over at you, he noticed how you were trying to hold back tears.

Getting mad, he looked around the room for any way to stop the vain ghost's comments. He soon noticed a small breeze coming from the window. Moving towards it, he noticed it was actually broken.

A plan quickly came to mind. He grabbed hold of the curtain and when Lydia turned back to you to continue her ranting of how you could make yourself look better, he pulled as hard as he could on it, pulling it out of the way, allowing the breeze from outside to rush in.

He quickly scuttled away from it before Lydia turned and saw what he did. 

"Oh, dear, what a draft! This won't do, it'll ruin my hair!" She complained as she floated over to the curtain to pull it back into place, exposing her heart. Acting quickly, Luigi flashed her with his flashlight, shocking her before releasing his Poltergust on her. 

"EEEEK!" Lydia shrieked as she tried to escape the suction. 

"(Y/n)...Looks...Just...FINE!" Luigi yelled as he finally captured her, the force causing him to fall on his back clumsily.

"Um... I'll-a get the hang of it." He chuckled nervously as the lights turned on and a chest appeared

You were somewhat shocked, both from how quickly he had captured her and from his kind words.

Snapping out of your shocked state, you quickly helped him back on his feet. "Uh... t-thanks." You said as Luigi dusted himself off.

"Uh... yea. Who would've thought that anyone might-a want to marry that old crone?"

"I... have no idea." You noted. The two of you looked eyes before bursting out laughing.

Suddenly, over your laughter was a cry. The two of you stopped as another cry rung out.

You both looked at the door. Opening gently, you walked out.

Looking around, you found the crying to be coming from one of the locked rooms...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n:
> 
> So, I've had a couple of people on Wattpad ask me about Luigi's accent, and why I only add the -a or a- every now or then rather than regularly. The thing is, I don't want to completely butcher it, so whenever I'm writing Luigi's lines, I think about the tone and speed of it, then add his Italian accent as how I see fit.
> 
> For instance, in the line, "I'm... fine." after he falls from the banana peel, he is dazed and not talking very quickly, so, by my thoughts, his accent wouldn't be very obvious.
> 
> On the other hand, when he says it again in the line, "I'M-A FINE!", he is instead shocked, talking both quick and loudly. To me, it would make his accent a bit more obvious. 
> 
> I apologize if this doesn't make sense or you disagree, but I don't want to exclude the accent. It a part of the man, for goodness sake!


	5. Don't Forget the Baby!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two of you looked over at the door. The crying was still sounding out, echoing through the hall quite clearly. You and Luigi looked at each other, each somewhat concerned. 

Looking back at the door, you gingerly took the key you had gotten from Lydia and opened the door.

Walking inside, the crying stopped and you found yourself in a nursery. It was cluttered with toys, a single crib close to the door. 

"Oh wow, look! A rocking horse!" You couldn't help but note. Walking over to it, you put down your Poltergust and sat down on the small horse, lightly rocking back and forth. Luigi, who couldn't help but smile at your silly antics, turned to the shelf parallel to you. 

Looking next to it, he noticed a small globe. Looking at one of the islands, he couldn't help but think about what sort of goodies would be there. 

However, he was quickly ripped from his fantasies of candies and cakes as he heard a small squeak and some ghostly laughter behind him. 

Spinning around quickly, he noticed you still on the rocking horse, only now the ghost of a small baby was sitting on your lap, giggling happily as the horse continued to rock. 

"Goo! Faster! Faster!" The small ghost giggled, waving his hands joyfully, the rattle in his hand sounding at full volume. You simply looked up at Luigi, shocked and not knowing what to do.

"Um... hey there, little bambino. Um... do you a-mind letting my friend get up?" He asked nervously, not sure how the small baby would react. 

The small baby giggled. "Ok, mister!" He happily squealed as he jumped up, floating around the room at a quick "sprint".

Getting up slowly, you couldn't help but watch the small ghost run around. "I'm guessing that little guy is Chauncey." You noted as you quickly restrapped your Poltergust to your sholders.

"Hey, guys! Why don't we play!" Chauncey giggled before picking up a nearby ball and throwing it at Luigi. 

Luigi, being the adorable little coward he is, ended up yelping and squatting the ball away, accidentally hitting Chauncey with it. You winced slightly as the small ghost child recoiled from the hard hit. 

"OW! You gave me an owie! I just wanted to play with you... I hate grown-ups, why do you have to be bigger than me!!!"

"Oh boy." You said as you could tell that the small baby was on the verge of a tantrum. 

"I've had enough! ..........Small... Now grow smaller! Small! Itsy! Tiny! Little! Wee! Ga ga goo goo GA!"

Suddenly, everything around you seemed to fade as you felt your self seemingly shrink. The light in the room became unbearable as you shut your eyes.

Soon enough, you felt everything seemingly settle everything around you. Opening your eyes, you realized you were in a different dimension. The entirety of it was a black and purple swirliness that made you dizzy the longer you looked at it. But even stranger than that, you noticed you were in a giant crib. 

And when I say giant, I mean GIANT.

You noticed Luigi next to you, shaking like a leaf. Well, more like a fuzzy, but I digress.

Suddenly, a large breeze hit the two of you. Looking up, you notice the head of the small baby appearing. Only bigger. 

Much, much, MUCH bigger.

Ok, enough 4th wall breaking and stalling.

Chauncey looked down at the two of you before letting out three extremely loud and echoing cries before taking out his large rattle. With a small wink, he let out a yell before a large rocking horse much like the one you had accidentally summoned the baby from the Underwhere. (Kudos to those who know the reference.)

"Woah!" You yelped as you jumped to the side, the surface of the rocking horse just barely grazing your poltergust. 

Luigi quickly jumped over to you as another rocking horse went flying at him. "What in the world is a-going on!?" He yelled as you pulled him away from both horses charging at the two of you. 

"I have no idea, but LOOK OUT!" You yelled as many different bouncy balls much like the one Chauncey had thrown at Luigi fell from the sky, bouncing around.

Three different times you were almost crushed. Falling on your bum, your poltergust's tube shook free, sucking over one of the bouncing balls, getting caught and clogging the mouth.

Thinking quick, you took advantage of it and flipped the switch to 'blow'.  
With enough force, the ball was sent flying toward the large ghost, hitting him hard, exposing his heart, as you fell down unto your bum. Catching onto your plan, Luigi immediately started trying to capture the baby ghost.

Chauncey cried, before teying ro escape the vacuum's sucrion.

Despite both your and Luigi's best efforts, Chauncey managed to get again. "WAA! STAY AWAY!" He cried as he sent a barrage of the large horses towards you.

"Oh, you have-a GOT to be KIDDING me!" Luigi yelled in desperation as he ran away from one of the rocking horses.

"We just have to wait till he decides to crush us with those bouncy balls! We can-"

Suddenly, you felt a harsh hit on the back of your head. You felt your body falling as you started fading out.

"(Y/N)!!!" You heard Luigi's screech in fear.

"HANG ON, (Y/N), I'M COMING!" You faintly heard Maria's voice call to you.

Your vision was failing you.

You were fading.

The last thing you saw before fading was a shrinking Maria with a large, metal tube on her back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. One hit over the head, and we're stuck with a jerk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...

It hurts.

That's all you could think of as you forced your eyes open. Weakly looking around, you noticed that you seemed to be in a strange bedroom. The walls had no wallpaper or paint. They were just dirt and rocks.

"I must be in the Lab." You thought as you tried to get up. Suddenly, a harsh and stabbing pain hit your head, causing you to wince and fall back onto the pillows. Trying to ignore the pain throbbing in your skull, you tried weakly to look around.

Aside from the bed, which was covered with a blanket of different power-ups on a white background and a nightstand with a power star lamp on it, there was what seemed to be a wardrobe and a small desk cluttered with papers and scrap metal. Other than that, the room was empty from any decor or design. 

You noticed a door next to the desk. "H-hello? Anyone there?" You called, hoping someone would hear you. You listened for a few seconds before calling out again. "Hello?" Soon after, you heard the door nob shaking, before it turned and a familiar grumpy face walked in. 

"Morning, sleeping beauty. Did the Baahammer finally wear off?" Maria teased as she crossed her arms. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing her trademark hoodie. Instead, she was wearing a blue and white striped shirt. 

"I... What?" You asked, not exactly knowing what she was referencing. 

"Joking, kid." She grumbled as she walked over and stood at the side of the bed. "How 'ya feeling?"

"Well, aside from the fact that it feels like I have a knife stuck in the back of my head and the fact I feel like my body has turned to stone, great. What happened?" You asked.

Maria sighed and ran a hand through her puffy hair, getting it stuck in some tangles, which she pulled apart while wincing.

"Ow, ow. Demon baby managed to hit you with one of those freaky horses. Ugh..." She shivered. "Reason 101 not to have kids. Can you walk?"

You shook your head. "Head hurts too much."

"Damn it. OK, wait here, I'll get your boyfriend down here." Maria teased as she turned and walked out.

"Oh, ok- WAIT, BOYFRIEND!?" You yelled after her, sitting up straight.

You could hear her cackle as you fell back down into the plush pillows. After waiting for a few minutes, you could hear running before the door slammed open, revealing a sobbing Luigi.

"(Y/N), YOU'RE ALIVE!!!" He sobbed as he tackle-hugged you, sobbing into your shoulder as E. Gadd and his granddaughter stood at the door frame.

Giggling to yourself, you hugged the sobbing plumber, saying, "Come on, Weeg, you know it takes more than a hit to the back of the head to keep me down!"

As Luigi blubbered nonunderstandable gibberish, E. Gadd walked over and exclaimed," Great to see that you're feeling better, (Y/n). Honestly, I didn't think Luigi would ever calm down from his freak out. The moment he and Maria came into the Lab holding you in such a state, I just knew something had happened."

Oh, right. You and Luigi had been fighting Chauncey! "Wait, what about Chauncey!?"

E. Gadd gave a somewhat frown as you noticed Maria smirking at her grandfather. "Well, long story short, dear, Maria ended up having to go up there and helping you to out."

Noticing the look of pride on his granddaughter's face, E.Gadd gave a mischievous smirk of his own and added, " The moment she saw that we lost both of your signals, she grabbed her Poltergust 2001 and hurried right on up there to help you. Why, she had such a look of panic on her face, it's as though someone had just stolen her jacket behind her back!"

"GRANDPA!"

Giving a chuckle, E. Gadd noted, "As for the three portrait ghosts you caught, wait till you see what we managed! They won't be bothering anyone else anymore."

"We turned them back into portraits."

"Maria!"

"Elvin."

You couldn't help but laugh at the pair's bickering and you held the now quiet Luigi in your arms. He was now calm, simply watching E. Gadd and Maria from where he was, laying down on the bed, using your shoulder as a resting place for his head. You hadn't noticed before, but he wasn't wearing his trademark green cap. 

"ANYWAY! We'll leave you two alone. You can go once you're ready." E. Gadd noted before leaving the room, his granddaughter right behind him.

Sitting comfortably in silence for a bit, Luigi sighed quietly as he got up and off of you, instead sitting next to you. "I'm-a sorry, (Y/n). I've should've paid more attention to what was going on." He apologized as he looked down at his folded feet, a look of sadness on his face. 

"Dude, Weeg, stop acting as though everything is your fault. I'm fine, really. See, I can even move with no pain already." You retorted, even twisting your body with no problem.

Luigi looked up at you, his eyes glossy with tears. "Still, I should have been a bit more attentive."

"Seriously, dude. Don't worry." You repeated, wrapping an arm around him and hugging him close to you, giving him a friendly noogie. 

Luigi blushed, but didn't object. 

After resting for a few minutes, you decided to get up. With Luigi walking beside you, you walked out to the Lab's main room. Inside, you found E.Gadd and Maria working on a large machine, the two Poltergusts nearby, with another machine that looked like a large flask with a light, a couple of buttons, straps, and a vacuum tube on it. 

While Maria was under the machine, laying on a roller while messing around with something, seemingly talking to someone. "No, Peas. I don't think we'll be visiting anytime soon... Ya, it's another ghost break out." E. Gadd, on the other hand, was fixing some something that looked like a stomper. 

"Ah, (Y/n)! Glad to see you up and about!" E. Gadd exclaimed as he looked up from his work. 

Maria rolled up from under the machine, revealing that she was on a cell phone and had Luigi's cap on her head. She took it off and tossed it over to him. "Pretty sure that's yours. No, Peasley, I wasn't talking to you." She then laid down again, the phone next to her head before rolling back under the machine. 

Luigi turned a light pink before muttering a "T-thanks." as he put his cap back on. "What's this?" You asked as you inspected the machine.

"Why, it's my Ghost Portrificationizer! The machine that turns ghosts into portraits."

"Yea," Maria said. "It's also the machine that works in reverse and got us into this mess! Oh, hello, Queen Bean. Having a nice evening, I hope."

"Wait, it a-works in reverse? Why!?" Luigi couldn't help but ask. "I... Maria, WHAT was the reasoning behind the reverse option?" E. Gadd asked.

"I... actually don't remember. Peas, unless you can tell me why we have a machine that turns ghosts into portraits that has a reverse option, then you can't answer the question... Ok, WHY would we want to make portraits alive? ...That's what I thought."

You and Luigi looked at each other, wondering who was important enough that Maria would stay on the phone with them so long into a conversation.

"Yes, well. Enough dilly-dallying! Let me know when you're ready to get back into the mansion." E. Gadd exclaimed.

"Actually, I'm ready to go right now." You replied.

Both Luigi and E. Gadd looked at you in confusion. "A-already? But should you a-rest up first?" Luigi asked. "Nope. I'm ready to go." You retorted.

E. Gadd seemed to be thinking. He then sighed before saying," Well, if you're ready, kiddo. However I should ask that...you...." He sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Allow Maria to join you as a precaution."

The moment the last word left his mouth, Maria shot out from beneath the machine and sat up, the biggest and smuggest smile on her face. "Well, I hope that goes well for you, Peasley. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be smug for a bit. Ya, you too. Don't call me dear." She hung up her phone, before putting it in her pocket and holding her face in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. "You mind repeating that, dear grandpa? I didn't hear you the first time."

E. Gadd grumbled. "I don't doubt neither your or Luigi's abilities when it comes to ghosts, but after you got that hit on your noggin, I decided that I should allow Maria go with you, at least until we made absolute sure you were ok." 

You couldn't help but glare at the smirking girl.

"I'll stay out of the way during the search, but those ghosts are mine." She noted before she got up and walked over to the Poltergusts. 

Maria walked back with the two Poltergust 3000s and the other machine. "Here, take your 3000s. I'll take my 2001."

"2001?" Luigi asked as he took one of the Poltergusts as you took the other. 

"Allow me to introduce one of the Poltergust's prototypes, the Poltergust 2001. It was the last one before the official ones you two have. Due to it being too heavy, we had to improve that and we also decided to fix up the design." E. Gadd replied, smirking happily to himself.

"It may be heavy but it works the same way the 3000s work."

You watch as Maria took the heavy looking thing and strapped it securely to her back. "I'll wait above." She then turned and went up the ladder.

"You cannot be serious." You told E. Gadd. "Please just try. She really is kind when she wants to be." He told you, watching as his granddaughter went upwards. "It's just until you feel better."

You sighed. Luigi noticed the look of disapproval on your face and put his hand on your shoulder. "Remember, it's for Mario."

You took a deep breath and turned to him. "For Mario."

The three of you went up the ladder, where you found Maria looking into the distance, as though looking for something. "Where could I have left them?" She mumbled to her self.

"Ahem." E. Gadd cleared his throat. Jumping in surprise, Maria turned did a 180, before she realize it was just you three. "Geez gramps, don't scare me like that."

"Maria, don't try any funny business, got it." E. Gadd scolded her. She put up her hands in front of her. "Hey now, it's not like I'm going to blow up the moon or something."

"All righty then. Good luck, you three." You nodded your head towards the older man before taking off back to the mansion, then ebony hair girl right behind you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well. This came out sooner than I expected.


	7. BOO!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know, this foyer looks much better with the lights on," Maria stated as the three of you entered the haunted mansion once again. You couldn't help but sigh. It was one thing to have to find Mario in a mansion full of dangerous ghosts, but having a jerk of a wild card with you will only make this harder. 

"Um... so where do you-a think this key goes?" Luigi asked. Looking at the key and thinking you tried your best to think of which door it could go to.

While walking back to the mansion, Luigi had shown you the pink key he and Maria had obtained after defeating Chauncey. It was pink, with its handle shaped into a heart.

"I'm guessing the big door with the heart shape on it." 

Turning to Maria, you noticed she was pointing towards the door between the stairs. Giving it a good look, you realized the two doors formed a heart marking when closed. 

"Ah. Right." You said, slightly embarrassed. Smirking a bit, Maria looked at Luigi and held her hand out. "May I?" 

Luigi nodded and set the key on her hand. Gripping it tightly, Maria walked over to the doors and stood in front of them for a few seconds. Sure enough, the prickly vines that covered them retracted, disappearing quickly.

Maria turned and crossed her arms, the same smug smile on her face. "Shall we?"

You mumbled under your breath as you walked through the door, Maria 'kindly' holding it open.

Behind the door was a pretty normal hallway. Looking at the map, you noted the layout. It was an almost perfect sideways H, and geez, there were a bunch of rooms. 

Too bad only one was opened.

"Jeez, these ghosts really like their privacy, don't they?" You grumbled to Maria and Luigi as you started towards the unlocked room, not taking your eyes off the map.

Suddenly, you felt yourself get shoved back as two ghost bats just barely missed hitting you. Turning your head around, you found yourself staring into two annoyed purple eyes.

"Hey, kid? I get that you want to find this Mario guy, but you should at least watch where you're going." Maria scolded you as she let go of your shirt. Walking past you, she turned the corner to the next hallway.

Turning to Luigi, you mouthed a "Huh?". He simply shrugged before motioning to follow her.

Walking through the hallway, avoiding the ghosts of small mice and barely dodging a couple of bats, turning the corner to the next, you found Maria waiting for the two of you in front of the door. "Well, shall we?" She asked as she opened the door.

Inside was a bathroom. "Why would ghosts need a bathroom?" Luigi asked out loud as he followed you in. Looking around, the three of you checked for any possible clues. Maria checked the shower tub, you looked around the sink and Luigi examined the shelf.

After a few seconds of searching, you could hear Maria curse under her breath. "Luigi, dude. I get you're scared and all, but can you not grab my shoulders so hard? Your hands are freezing." 

A weird look spread across your face. What in the world?

Peeking around the corner of the half wall dividing the tub and the sink, you froze as you noticed Luigi in the corner, staring at a strange ghost holding onto Maria.

The ghost was long and white, two arms being it's only limbs, with a fin-like horn sticking out from its head. Its yellow eyes bore into the base of Maria's neck, its large, gaping mouth breathing heavy, its fangs seemingly ready to strike at any moment.

"U-um, Maria?" You whispered, slowly getting your flashlight. Turning around, said girl finally noticed Luigi at the corner. As she froze in her tracks, you could see the gears turning in her head as she connected the dots. 

Soon enough, the dots were connected

"Ohhh, you are kidding me." She groaned. 

In a flash, Maria shook off the ghost, leaving it open for capture. Luigi took the chance and flashed it, readying his Poltergust.

"GREEHEHE!" The ghost screeched as it tried to get away from the suction. 

As you moved forward to help Luigi, you felt an ice cold pair of hands grab you from behind. "Ack! Get this thing off of me!" You yelled as you started to shake like a mad woman, trying to loosen the ghost's grip. "Close your eyes!" Maria yelled before flashing the ghost, making it release its grip on you before it started trying to hurry away.

Soon enough, both ghosts were bagged. The room lit up, but no one seemed to notice. You were all panting, trying to catch your breath after your mini heart attacks. "G...gr..." Maria gasped, sucking in as much air as possible. "G-grabber ghosts. They were Grabber Ghosts." She managed to get out as she fixed her posture. 

"G-good to know." Luigi gasped as he fixed himself, looking over at you. "Y-you alright, (Y/n)?"

"I'll be fine." You said as you looked up at him, somewhat forcing a smile on your face. 

You heard Maria's Poltergust suck something in. Turning to Maria, you noticed the key in her hand. "Let's get out of here." She grumbled as she walked out. 

"For once, I agree." You grumbled as you followed her. Looking at the map, Maria took a few minutes to match the key to one of the locked rooms. "So, I guess you've-a studied the Grabber Ghosts with your grandfather, right?" Luigi asked in an attempt to make small talk with her.

"Correction, I caught the ghosts. Gramps is who studies them." Maria quickly replied, a heavy dollop of apathy in her voice. "Ballroom. Hope you two know how to dance." She turned and walked away.

Somewhat crestfallen, Luigi followed her, you fuming right behind him.

Sticking the key into one of the locked doors in the middle hallway, Maria moved to unlock it, but stopped. "...Sorry if that reply sounded bad. I just really hate those things." She said with a small sigh, turning to look at Luigi.

A hint of surprise on his face, Luigi quickly replied, "N-no! It's ok, really!"

"No, but seriously, I need to-" Maria froze, her eyebrows furrowing. "Do you two hear that?"

"Hear what?" You asked, looking around for any strange sources of sound. 

"That! Doesn't it sound like... fighting?"

The three of you fell silent. Sure enough, you could hear faint sounds, much like fighting. "Yeah! I hear it too!" You noted.

"Same here," Luigi added.

"I... Is it coming from behind the door?" You wondered. 

Turning around, Maria stared at the key still stick out of the keyhole. "Only one way to find out." She turned the key, unlocking the door and giving the three of you access to the room.

The ballroom was... surprisingly plain, actually. You really couldn't see much, but you could tell the basic layout. It was a large room, with two circular patterns on the ground. Two small chandeliers hung above each. Chairs stood against the wall, out of the way of the dancing area. Music played from an unknown source. 

The three of you watched as a pair of ghosts, a male and female, danced around the room, seemingly doing the waltz. 

The male was a pale blue, with orange-yellow hair and green eyes. He was wearing a fancy red suit, with a purple undershirt and a matching tie. 

The female was a similar shade of blue, with yellow hair done up in a really curly style, and green eyes under heavy black lashes. Her dress was green, dark patterns decorating it. A cream-colored belt was tied loosely around her waist. 

The two seemed quite happy, dancing around the dark room. 

"Yeesh, those two are crazy colorful," Maria grumbled. "Oi, dancing deadheads!"

The music screeched to a halt as the two dancers spun around to look at Maria. "How DARE you!" The woman screeched, her high pitched voice causing you to slightly cringe. "Do you not know who you are talking to!?"

"...Dancing ghosts?" Maria replied, raising an eyebrow. 

"U-um...Ms. Maria, I-a don't think insulting them is going to help..." Luigi stumbled, shaking under the glare of the ghost.

The male growled under his breath, wrapping his arm around his partner's waist and throwing up his other into the air. The female followed suit.

"Nigel Whirlinda!" He yelled.

"Charlotte Whirlinda!" She yelled.

"We!" The male growled, his deep, echoing voice full of anger. "Are the Floating Whirlindas. Waltz champions of the century!"

The two stood there for a few seconds, waiting for some sort of reaction.

Rolling her eyes, Maria crossed her arms. "Never heard of ya."

"Wait, what!?" Charlotte yelled. 

"Blasphemy!" Nigel yelled.

Looking at you and Luigi, Maria pointed over at the pair. Shaking your head, you silently admitted you have never heard of the two. 

"Oh, you uncultured swine." Charlotte hissed, crossing her arms and huffing. 

"Yeah, yeah, uncultured, whatever. Come on, time for the two of you to get back into your portrait." Maria said, readying her flashlight. Gasping, the two ghosts backed away. "W-wait! Please, we beg you, not yet!" Nigel begged, holding Charlotte close to him.

"Save your breath," Maria growled.

You couldn't help but feel a tad bit bad for the Whirlindas. Maria clearly looked quite annoyed and determined to catch them. 

"Wait, please. We'll make you a deal!" Charlotte cried.

Hearing those words, you snapped out of your thoughts and grabbed onto the back of Maria's sweater. "Hang on, Maria! Let's hear what the deal is!"

"Oh, puh-lease! What deal can they make that'll make my job easier?" Maria snapped, tugging her sweater out of your hand.

"We'll go with you peacefully with only one condition!" Nigel yelled. Snapping her head in his direction, Maria stared at the two, weighing her options.

Sighing, she relaxed, saying, "You have one minute to make a deal that doesn't annoy me."

Sighing in relief, Nigel looked in your and Luigi's direction, avoiding Maria's glare. "We will go peacefully, but only if two of you dance with us. Five minutes, that is all we ask. Keep up with us and we will put up no fight."

"Yes, yes! Please, we simply want to make sure we still dance a good dance! The pretty girl and the man in green will dance with us as the, um... purpled eyed one watches." Charlotte added.

Blushing lightly, you and Luigi gave each other a shy look. "U-um... I'm not-a very good dancer! Maybe there's something else?" Luigi quickly asked, staring at the floor, rubbing the back of his head. 

Maria pursed her lips, tapping her foot. Quickly weighing the options yourself, you quickly answered, "S-sure! We'll dance!" Looking up at you, his face red, Luigi gave you a look of disbelief. 

"If we manage to simply keep up with them, we can catch them with no problem and not subject them to Maria's rage!" You whispered to him. "Come on, Weeg, please?"

Gulping lightly, Luigi nodded. "A-alrighty then..."

"Oh, wonderful! Music!" 

As the two once again stood towards each other, you and Luigi moved to the center of the second circle, standing the same way the Whirlindas stood. Maria walked over to a chair and took a seat, crossing her arms.

"And dance!"

The Whirlindas pressed their hands together, spinning in unison to the music. 

Thinking quick, you took one of Luigi's hand and pressed it to yours, holding them up high. Taking a step to the left, you attempted to copy what the ghosts were doing. Luigi, still somewhat red, followed your lead, mirroring your moves.

One, two, three, one, two, three.

The two of you weren't doing half bad! You managed to keep up, stumbling here and then. 

"Ouch!" You winced as Luigi accidentally stepped on your foot. "Ack! S-sorry, (Y/n)." Luigi apologized. "It's fine, Weegee. Don't worry about it." You replied, giving him a bright smile.

Suddenly, you felt something sharp hit the back. "OW! What the-" Another sharp hit pushed you to the ground. Letting out a yell of shock, Luigi caught you quickly in a dip, holding you by the small of your back. To avoid falling even more, you reflexively wrapped your arms around Luigi's neck.

Gasping for a couple of seconds, you quickly realized the position you were in. Luigi was now 'dipping' you, your face just a few centimeters away from his.

The two of you stood there for a few seconds, each with a face the color of a cherry. Luigi's mouth twitched slightly, as though he were thinking of saying something.

"Oi, lovebirds! Heads up!" Maria's voice cracked through the air as you hear her poltergust whir to life. Snapping out of whatever trance the two of you were in, you and Luigi got back up and noticed Maria fighting against... Shy Guy Ghosts? "Ghosts guys!" Maria yelled as she struggled to rip off the mask off of one, while two other tried to stab her with sharp looking tridents.

Looking over at the Whirlindas, you notice a smirk on Charlotte's face as she and Nigel continued to dance.

Oh, no they didn't.

Growling under your breath at the realization that you had been tricked, you grabbed onto your Poltergust's tube, ready to fight back. Almost like he read your mind, Luigi followed suit.

The music became much faster as you rushed to Maria's aid, attempting to flash one of the Ghost Guys. It had no effect on it, instead turning its attention to you. "What the!?"

"You have to pull the mask off! It'll be vulnerable then!" Maria yelled at you as she ducked away from an attack.

Following her advice, you used your Poltergust to try and pry the ghost's mask off. One hard tug and it flew off. The ghost recoiled, trying to hide its face. Taking the chance, you flashed it once again, now shocking it and leaving it open for capture.

The fight took longer than expected. It didn't help that the Whirlindas were throwing black mushrooms your way.

"Ok, that's it!" Maria yelled as she rushed towards the pair. She reached into her pocket and tossed something shiny their way. Dodging it, the Whirlindas made a fatal mistake.

They exposed their heart.

Flashing them, Maria began to attempt a capture. 

"NO! LEAVE US ALONE, YOU DISGUSTING SWINE!" Charlotte screamed as she and Nigel tried to escape the suction. 

Rushing to her side, you and Luigi also began to try and suck up the devious pair. As pearls scattered around the room, the three of you were dragged around. "Woah!" Maria ducked in a hurry as a mushroom just barely missed her. 

"NIGEL!"

"CHARLOTTE!"

The ghosts screamed as they were finally sucked into Maria's Poltergust. The room lit up, revealing a blue chest.

"HA! Who's the uncultured swine now, b-" Maria caught herself halfway once she noticed your glare. "..Yeah."

Opening the chest, Luigi pulled out a key. "Alright!"

Looking around the room, you couldn't help but frown. How could you let yourself be tricked so easily?

"'Ey, (Y/n)! You still there?" Maria asked as she snapped her fingers in your face. 

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, I'm ok." You replied quickly. 

Luigi's Pov 

I tossed the key around in my hands for a bit before looking over at (Y/n) and Maria. They seemed ok. Maria was snapping her fingers in (Y/n)'s face, seemingly trying to get her attention.

(Y/n)... oh, darn it, I missed a perfect chance!

I grumbled to myself. It was hard enough trying to tell her my feelings when it was just the two of us, but now that we have to deal with Ghosthunter McGrump, it became much harder. 

Yeah, yeah, I know. I have no real chance with her. Let's face it; she's pretty, smart, and so nice. 

I sighed to myself, looking down at the key in my hand. Stupid ghosts, stupid mansion, stupid... me. Why did I fall for this trick? Why did I think I was lucky enough to win a mansion? Oh stars, to think having a mansion would get my crush to fall in love with me? Why did I-

"WEEGEE! LOOK OUT!" A voice screamed in my direction

Looking around for the danger, I felt something hit me in the back. Suddenly, the world around me seemed to grow. 

Wait, no... I'm shrinking!

"ACK! WHAT JUST A-HAPPENED!?" I yelled in shock. However, even I cringed at how much higher my voice had gotten.

I heard cackling as the floor seemed to shake. (Y/n) was now crouching near me, Maria on the ground nearby, howling in laughter.

A few minutes later, I was back to normal size, Maria having explained that I had been hit by one of the poison mushrooms that had been still jumping around.

(Y/n) was staring at me, her pretty face full of concern. "I-I'm-a sorry, (Y/n)." Darn it, Weeg, stop stuttering!

"Well, if you're really ok, let's go into the Storage room." I nodded and handed her the key, allowing her to open the locked door at the end of the room.

Leading the way, (Y/n) walked in, Maria and I right behind her.

All the room had was a bucket, a stack of chairs, and several crates, all located in the eastern half of the room. A small mirror was hanging loosely on one wall.

Nothing except a Purple Puncher and a Grabber Ghost inside, we managed to get the lights on really quickly. Looking around, the room was... empty. Nothing was there

"Absolutely nothing... why does that not surprise me?" Maria grumbled.

The three of us started to search, despite there not being much to find. 

Wait... is there... a button in the mirror?

I looked closer at the mirror. Other than my reflection, there was a button as well. Turning around, I located it. It was bright red, with a 'DO NOT PRESS ' sign underneath it.

Should I?

Curiosity killed the cat...

I clicked the button.

The left wall started trembling, causing Maria, who had been looking for anything that may have been a hidden switch, to jump back. The wall began to back away until it practically doubled the size of the room.

Maria and (Y/n) turned to me, both with equally shocked faces. 

"Um... satisfaction brought it back?"

Narrator's Pov

The three of you were shocked as you walked around the new bit of area. Other than a grate on the floor and a boo poster on the wall, there was nothing else. Maria, however, seemed to be nervous.

"Um, I think we may want to leave this area alone, guys." She said.

"What, why?" Luigi questioned.

While Luigi tried to get an answer, you inspected the poster. It was simple, just a boo behind bars. However, you noticed that the boo was popping out a bit. Peeling off the poster by the corner, you revealed a shiny red button.

Without really thinking, you pressed it.

...

The ground shook a bit as the grate in the middle seemed to open, a white mist clouding over a dark hole.

Maria quicked turned to you, a look of both surprise and fear. "(Y/n), PLEASE tell me you didn't press that button!"

Suddenly, a massive amount of Boos rushed out of the hole, each cackling evilly.

"WHO'S THERE!? WHO DARES DISTURB OUR SLEEP!?"

"OH HO! IT'S LUIGI AND HIS GIRLFRIEND! LOOK, EVERYONE! THE LOVEBIRDS HAVE ARRIVED!"

"WE'LL DO TO THE TWO OF YOU WHAT WE DID TO MARIO... ONLY WORSE!"

"LOOK OUT! IT'S MARIA! AND THEY ALL HAVE POLTERGUSTS!" A deeper voice than the others boomed. Rushing up came none other than King Boo.

"EVERYONE! SCRAM!" He boomed as each and every boo rushed out of the room.

Soon, it was empty, leaving only you, Luigi, and Maria.

You all stood there, frozen. 

After all, you did just release about 50 of the most dangerous ghosts around into the mansion. 

Not to mention their king.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


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